The Spice of Life

The second album from soul jazz vocalist Marlena Shaw, produced and arranged by Charles Stepney, is a high-quality, expertly assembled, and superbly performed journey through late ‘60s soul, R’n’B, and proto-funk. Sitting at the urbane, sophisticated end of the ‘60s soul spectrum, it’s full of rich, complex orchestration and jazz touches, and features steaming late-night torch songs, light and buoyant soul jazz, epic heart-wrenching ballads, and hard-driving, classy funk anthems. The Spice… includes a couple of songs that have become ubiquitous in the UK due to sampling and advertising, Shaw’s superb social commentary feminist-funker "Woman of the Ghetto," and the glorious hippie-soul of "California Soul," which comes with some of Stepney’s most stirring string arrangements. It’s an album where all the elements -- the vocalist, the songs, the band, the production, the arrangements - are all powering away at top level, and unsurprisingly it’s a favourite among soul fans.